Public Employees Paid More Than Private Workers in 41 States

[red states rule]

So much for the underpaid teachers VS the evil greedy Republican Gov

Damn those pesky facts!!!

Wisconsin is one of 41 states where public employees earn higher average pay and benefits than private workers in the same state, a USA TODAY analysis finds. Still, the compensation of Wisconsin's government workers ranks below the national average for non-federal public employees and has increased only slightly since 2000.

The finding comes as the Midwestern state remains in the center of efforts by several governors to reduce budget shortfalls in part by requiring state and local government workers to pay more for health and retirement benefits.

The standoff reaches a crucial point today when Republican Gov. Scott Walker presents a proposed budget for the year beginning July 1. He says layoffs of state workers may begin if the Legislature does not adopt his proposal to curb collective-bargaining rights of public workers and require them to pay a higher share of the cost of benefits.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ers01_ST_N.htm

[fj1200]

That must be the mistreatment that PB is talking about.

[Psychoblues]

Here is a certainly better and more fair look at the public/private pay disparity.

Source: Washington Post

By: Ed O'Keefe

The Public-Private Pay Gap, Revisited

John Berry, the government's personnel chief, never shies away from a microphone or reporter's notebook and didn't disappoint Tuesday when asked once again about the ongoing debate regarding pay and benefits earned by federal workers.

You'll recall that Berry picked a fight on the issue this summer with Republican lawmakers, the Cato Institute, USA Today and others, sticking up for the rank and file with an emotional defense. The fight started last December when USA Today reported that the number of feds earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession despite private-sector job losses.

In light of those reports, federal officials are considering an overhaul of how the government tracks and compares public and private sector pay.

"I don't want to get ahead of myself, it may be no changes are needed," he said Tuesday after meeting with agency personnel officials. But he cautioned that the current pay debate is nothing new.

"[The Heritage Foundation] and Cato [Institute], they could have published the same thing they published 25 years ago," he said. "Data can be manipulated to make whatever point you want to make."............................................ .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................

"The job categories in the private and public sectors are simply not comparable," he said. More:

One great example is "broadcast technicians." According to the USA Today, "broadcast technicians" in the federal government earn an average of $132,410 a year, while those in the private sector earn only $88,241. However, what the USA Today doesn't tell its readers is that, according to the very same data set they used, there are only 110 broadcast technicians working in the entire federal government. In the entire national workforce, according to the same data, there are 33,550 broadcast technicians. This means that broadcast technicians in the federal government represent three-tenths of one percent of the total. One can hardly compare them, especially since, according to the OPM, 99% of the broadcast technicians in the federal government work for the Broadcasting Board of Governors here in Washington. I know very well from personal experience that BBG technicians require much more experience and education than the average private sector broadcast technician.

Much more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fed...pay_fight.html

I don't see executives, skilled professionals, professional teachers, etc. banging the doors down trying to get to those so-called sweet, cushy, overpaid government jobs. What I do see is a government that seems to attract an across the board general mix of the population and in the case of higher paid professional staff, they know they can make more money in the private sector but they are for whatever reason not driven by pure economics. There is a certain desire for service regardless the poor rewards that guide most public employees has been my experience and observation of about 45 years.

Psychoblues

[darin]

That data is such a crock of shit.

"Largely because of the value of benefits..." or whatever. Stupid statistic.

Stories like these piss me off because they rely on the person interpreting the data; and are subject to the filters used when compiling the data.

Public service is a service.

Wanna get a fed job? Some $45k year jobs require PhD's. The gov't doesn't over-pay except when dealing with life-sucking labor unions.

[red states rule]

That data is such a crock of shit.

"Largely because of the value of benefits..." or whatever. Stupid statistic.

Stories like these piss me off because they rely on the person interpreting the data; and are subject to the filters used when compiling the data.

Public service is a service.

Wanna get a fed job? Some $45k year jobs require PhD's. The gov't doesn't over-pay except when dealing with life-sucking labor unions.

As I said in the OP, I posted the USA story becuase it included data on the WI teachers. You know, those "poorly paid" teachers

You will notice those supporting the WI union workers have avoided this thread

[Psychoblues]

As I said in the OP, I posted the USA story becuase it included data on the WI teachers. You know, those "poorly paid" teachers

You will notice those supporting the WI union workers have avoided this thread

I haven't.

Psychoblues

[actsnoblemartin]

facts, we dont need no stinking facts

So much for the underpaid teachers VS the evil greedy Republican Gov

Damn those pesky facts!!!

[Kathianne]

I'm having a difficult time finding factual sites regarding private and public school teachers and compensation. All the following include the standard caveats about 'choosing students', 'class sizes', and 'poverty in public schools,' otherwise known as editorializing. Then they address the salaries, never the benefits which are much lower in the private sector vs. public.

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=55

* In 2007�08, the average annual base salary of regular full-time public school teachers ($49,600) was higher than the average annual base salary of regular full-time private school teachers ($36,300).

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

http://712educators.about.com/od/job...ate-public.htm

Pay

While there are many pros and cons to teaching in a private school, probably the biggest negative is the pay. Private school teachers make in most cases much less than their public school counterparts. Teacher pay at these schools is based on the tuition brought in by students. Therefore, expect to earn at least $10 – 15,000 less at a minimum if you choose to teach at a private school.

Bottom line is that state accredited private schools must have certified staff and meet the requirements set by the state. At the private school I last taught at over 50% of staff held Master degrees, 1 a PhD in reading.

[Gaffer]

1 a PhD in reading I guess I'll be facetious here and ask how do you get a degree in reading. Do you read a certain number of books? I can see a degree in literature or composition. This just struck me as funny.

[Kathianne]

1 a PhD in reading I guess I'll be facetious here and ask how do you get a degree in reading. Do you read a certain number of books? I can see a degree in literature or composition. This just struck me as funny.

Never underestimate the minutia of education departments. LOL! In actuality she was able to test and analyze all sorts of reading problems and scores. A really big asset in a school without any special needs staff, but scores of special needs kids.

[Gaffer]

Never underestimate the minutia of education departments. LOL! In actuality she was able to test and analyze all sorts of reading problems and scores. A really big asset in a school without any special needs staff, but scores of special needs kids.

I thought there was more to it. Thanks for clarifying that for me. I was picturing stars on a board for books completed.

The first book I ever read was Last of the Mohicans in third grade. Took me 6 weeks and I only had one star for that book while the other kids had ten or twenty stars. They only counted quantity.

[Kathianne]

I thought there was more to it. Thanks for clarifying that for me. I was picturing stars on a board for books completed.

The first book I ever read was Last of the Mohicans in third grade. Took me 6 weeks and I only had one star for that book while the other kids had ten or twenty stars. They only counted quantity.

I'd wish that I could tell you it's different all these years later for me and you, but unless the teachers 'weighs' the readings, same crap.

[darin]

I have a PhD. in AWESOME.

[Psychoblues]

I have a PhD. in AWESOME.

And I suppose that's why you're soaking up all them sweet bennies and sucking them taxpayer paid dineros down like smooth whiskey?!?!???!?!??

Psychoblues

[actsnoblemartin]

are you talking about student loans?

I thought you had to pay those back?